In the video below, a very interesting discussion starts at minute 21 extends to minute 27.
Traditionally, to get assigned to an important committee, Democratic congresspeople were expected to pay "dues", which meant raising and contributing large sums to the DCCC. The way these large sums got raised was from lobbyists representing interests affected by said committee. This obviously gives those lobbyists, and the industries they represent, an outsize voice in the Democratic Party regarding legislation affecting them. This also helps to explain the adverse attitude of the DCCC towards candidates not sufficiently connected with monied interests. Apparently not new news, but certainly was a revelation to this observer.
At least with respect to the House Financial Services Committee, that has changed this year.
Video Caption:
Published on Jan 29, 2019
We take you behind the scenes as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the freshman New York representative, joins Intercept editors Ryan Grim and Briahna Joy Gray for an in-depth conversation about her approach to politics and social media, her thoughts on the 2020 presidential election, and her out-of-nowhere congressional campaign. As a new member of the House Financial Services Committee, she’s already shaping the conversation with her call to raise the top marginal tax rate to 70 percent. Former North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller, a progressive Democrat who served for years on the Financial Services Committee, also joins the conversation.